Article of footwear



A ri 11,1941.- v QEHOSKER 2,237,181

ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR Filed Oct. 26, 1940 ju -1201a 5/55 2755 E-h'Es/(Zm construction.

Patented Apr. 1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE 2,237,181 ARTICLE or FOOTWEAR Clarence E. Hosker, Watertown, Mass, asslgnor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York 4 Claims.

This invention relates .to articles of footwear and especially to articles of footwear having uppers constructed of fabric.

An object of the invention is to provide an article of footwear comprising a one-piece vamp of moccasin-like appearance of such a construction as to afford decorative variations. A more specific object is to provide a one-piece vamp of fabric, desirably light weight fabric, pinched-up in a fold extending around the fore-part of the article of footwear, and a decorative element overlying said fold and secured thereon in a manner to contribute shape-retaining firmness to the fabric of the fore-part of the article, and to present the article with a neat, moccasin-like appearance.

Further objects are to provide at low cost a well-ventilated, light weight article of footwear,

and to provide for economy and convenience of manufacture.

These and further objects will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article of footwear constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-section, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view like g. 2, showing a modified Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 2, butof the opposite side of the footwear and showing a further modi-- fied construction.

Light weight fabrics are well-adapted to use in the construction of the uppers of articles of footwear. Woven fabrics for this purpose possess good ventilating features, are conveniently formed into smooth shapes, may be of attractive texture, also of variety in design and are relaquence resulting from the relatively limp nature of the fabric. The means provided comprises a Application October 26, 1940, Serial No. 362,991

fold pinched-up from the fabric of the vamp in a manner to extend around the fore-part of the footwear, and a decorative covering element which overlies said fold and is secured thereto, thereby acting as a shape-retaining frame for the one-piece vamp which extends over the fore-part and toe-portion of the footwear.

An article of footwear of thelow sport shoe ty e is shown generally at H) in Fig. 1 of the drawing, including a one-piece vamp II with a fold l2 (Fig. 2) pinched-up and an overlying element l5 thereon and secured thereto in accordance with the inv ntion. The vamp ll may be attached to a sole I; in any suitable manner, as by adhesion or stitching or both.

The covering overlying the fold in the onepiece vamp may be constructed in many variations which add to the shape-retaining properties of the vamp and enhance its decorative, moccasin-like appearance. Several variations of the covering overlying the pinched-up fold are shown in Figs. 2 through 4. A covering l5 overlying the fold I2 is shown in Fig. 2 comprising a strip of binding tape, fabric, or other suitable material, preferably in sheet form, the edges of which are folded under the same to conceal the edges and resist unraveling thereof. The fold is retained and the covering secured thereon in any suitable manner, for example, by stitching I 6.

The fold covering tape l5 acts as a shape-retaining frame for the one-piece vamp which extends over the fore-part and toe-portion of the article of footwear. The binding tape contributes P firmness to the construction such that the possibility of undesirable creasing or wrinkling of the otherwise unreinforced fabric vamp is reduced or eliminated.

The smooth, wrinkle-free toe-portion of the footwear, made possibleby the-ease with which the woven fabric may be smoothly formed, i retained'in its smooth shape by the strip covering l5 and the fold in the vamp. The stitching or other means of retaining the fold and securing the binding tape further aids in stiffening the vamp and maintaining the shape of the toe-portion. The covering strip overlying the fold in the one-piece vamp presents the article of footwear with a moccasin-like appearance, avoiding objectionable plainness that might result if such strip were not present.

In the modified construction of Fig. 3 a fold covering strip. indicated at ",may be any solid color to harmonize with the shade of color of the fabric of the vamp, or to correspond to the color of other trim strips of the article of footwear. Said covering strip 10 overlying the fold in the one-piece fabric vamp may alternatively be striped as indicated at 30 in the further modified construction of Fig. 4 to further enhance the moccasin-like appearance of the article of footwear by imparting to the fold covering strip a simulation of the appearance of binding thongs.

In the modifications of the invention Figs, 3 and 4 the covering strip may be of suitable fabric or other sheer material so constructed that the edges thereof are not necessarily folded under to conceal the edges. Suitable strips for this purpose include those not subject to unraveling or having unattractive rough edges.

The stiffening, decorative covering elements overlying the fold in the one-piece vamp optionally may be of plastic, rubber, metallic or other suitable material which may be molded, extruded or otherwise formed in the desired shape.

Variations may 'be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear comprising a onepiece vamp extending over the fore-part of the article, including the toe-portionthereof, said vamp being held together in a fold extending around said fore-part of'the article, and a decorative covering element overlying said fold and secured thereto in a manner presenting the articie with a moccasin-like appearance.

2. An article of footwear comprising a onepiece vamp extending over the fore-part of the article, including the toe-portion thereof, said vamp being held together in a fold extending around said fore-part of the article, and a decorative strip covering element overlying said fold, said fold being retained and the covering element secured thereto by means of stitching, extending through the covering element and fold, in a manner presenting the article of footwear with a moccasin-like appearance.

3. An article of footwear comprising a onepiece vamp of fabric material extending over the fore-part of the article, including the toe-portion thereof, said vamp being held together in a fold extending around said fore-part of the article, and a strip element overlying said fold and secured thereto in a manner to increase the firmness of the fold in the fabric material and to present the article of footwear with a moccasiniike appearance.

4. An article of footwear comprising a onepiece vamp of light weight fabric material extending over the fore-part'of the article, including the toe-portion thereof, said vamp being held together in a fold extending around said forepart of the article, and a decorative binding tape overlying said fold in a manner to form a stiffening, shape-retaining frame for the vamp, the fold being retained and the binding tape being secured thereto by means of stitching extending through the covering elementand fold, in a manner presenting the article of footwear with a moccasin-like appearance.

CLARENCE E. HOSKER. 

